Thanks for the info, gang. Good to hear Mark on the show again. His new venture should be a great resource for public safety communicators. I regret that I cannot attend the event in Charlotte, but I will definitely look for upcoming opportunities.

Also, many thanks for the link/info for Bambuser. This is one that I'd not seen, yet. I typically move ahead of the curve on these mobile and social tools, but this one surprised me.

Washington Township Fire Department in Montgomery County, Ohio has a Facebook fan page: http://facebook.com/wtfire. You can also follow us on Twitter @wtfire.

I'm so glad that you covered this issue. And this is not a new catch phrase. I've been teaching this message as priority for several decades, has have thousands of fire safety educators around the country. It has been a huge challenge to get people to realize how important this is.

When I ask kids what they should do when their smoke alarm wakes them it saddens me to hear them say "stop, drop and roll". That message has become hackneyed and cliched. Remember, "Stop, Drop and Roll" is a cute thing that many fire departments, preschools and grade schools teach children about fire safety. However, it causes a terrible conflict of messages that children have trouble "unlearning." This skill is only used when fire is on you. Children, however, associate it with ANY fire problem and often believe this will help them when their house is burning. Fire safety educators need to be very cautious about how and when this is taught. It should be a "supporting" topic and not a main focus of their fire safety education efforts. Mixed messages lead to confusion and the wrong action when lives are in danger.

Just remember that you hold yourself liable for property damage or injury, regardless of the legality of the firework in question. The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that nearly 10,000 Americans are treated each year in emergency rooms for firework-related injuries. If you are the fireworks user you certainly have liability for these injuries or damages.

And, it is true that fireworks laws are difficult to enforce. That's not the true concern, though. The ultimate responsibility lies with the fireworks user. If you are the person lighting or providing fireworks for others to use, you hold the liability for anything that might go wrong. Laws will be enforced if something goes wrong.

Be safe and make wise choices. It is tragic when others are hurt simply because someone wants to have a few minutes of fun celebrating.